


Her Boy

by Rawrpeep



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Epona POV, Epona's view in a few games, Fluff, Link is there but doesn't have much screen-time, Loyalty, POV Third Person, and a bit of sad, but mostly love and, but she's a constant sooo, she's not part of the cycle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24503557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rawrpeep/pseuds/Rawrpeep
Summary: Epona remembers the first time she met her boy.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 75





	Her Boy

**Author's Note:**

> This just kind of… appeared in my head as I was trying to fall asleep one night. I had trouble coming up with a title at first, but… This should be short and sweet and simple. There’s a little bit of canon divergence, but that’s to be expected in a fanfiction. Hope you enjoy!

Epona remembers the first time she met her boy (though he wasn’t always a boy and she wasn’t always a mare). He had been a tiny thing, with dirt on his nose, scrapes on his knees, and ears almost too big for his head. He had slipped off the ledge and those eyes of his, blue as the sky surrounding them, had been filled with terror. Epona had swooped in, rushed along by a combination of adrenaline and instinct, and caught him just before he hit the clouds. His grubby little fists immediately clenched tightly in her crimson feathers, and he began to sob when he realized he was still alive. It had hurt a bit, but all Epona could feel was relief that this little Hylian her soul had cried out for was safe.

When she settled him back on the solid ground of Skyloft, he clung to her with trembling arms and she lovingly nibbled his hair until his tears had dried.

Years later, after the twister had stolen her boy’s friend, he told her he had to go to the land beneath the clouds. She had trilled sadly, somehow understanding deep within that this was his fate, unavoidable. It took all her restraint not to dive after him when he jumped from her back, sail cloth at the ready, determination coming off him in waves.

One of her happiest moments from that life came when he reappeared a few days later, her heart leaping at the familiar whistle.

It kept up like this for weeks, or maybe months, her boy always returning to her in various states of injury, but _alive._

Then one day, he didn’t return.

She knew he was still alive by instinct alone, but still she worried.

And then the clouds disappeared.

Epona let out a screech of joy and made a beeline for the Surface, ignorant of any Skyloftians who may have been following her. She was finally able to see her boy again, flapping excitedly and affectionately headbutting him while he laughed and playfully ruffled her feathers.

She felt whole again.

\------------

The second time she met her boy, she had been foul-tempered and fussy, unused to the strange quadrupedal body she now lived in. She could not recall why this new body felt strange, only that the ground felt unusual beneath those hard things on the ends of her legs. The little girl who cared for her had called them “hooves,” she thought. Lost in dysphoria, Epona stomped her hooves and shook her head when the little girl introduced a boy from the nearby forest. The girl sang a soft melody in an attempt to soothe her, hoping she wouldn’t lash out at the new boy. It didn’t stop Epona from tossing her head, but she ceased her stomping and resorted to scuffing. She didn’t _want_ to meet a new child, her soul cried to her subconscious, she wanted _her boy_ back!

The melody came again, but not from the girl. It was the forest boy this time, playing it on some kind of instrument. Epona wasn’t sure why it was so much more soothing coming from him, until she looked closely at him.

_Wind in her feathers and friendly eyes the color of the sky around them, crushing despair and blinding hope with each disappearance and reappearance, clouds and land and demons and deities, unavoidable fate and endless courage._

Epona let out a sound that she could only compare to a trill from a huge bird and lightly headbutted the forest boy, her ears and tail flicking excitedly as she nibbled his hair. The confused boy, no, _her_ boy, simply smiled and ran his fingers through her mane as the little girl said something along the lines of “she must like you!”

Her boy had to leave again after that, and it ripped her apart inside.

Years later, he finally reappeared, with familiar armor similar to what he had worn in the sky so long ago. Epona’s heart soared in a way she no longer could, though leaping the fence with her boy on her back came pretty close.

Leaping across the canyon came even closer.

In some ways, Epona found she liked this life a little more than their time in the sky. After all, she could actually _be there_ with her boy most of the time, aiding him in ways she had been unable to as a bird. The downside was that she too large to follow him into dungeons. At least she could trust the fairy on his shoulder to help where she couldn’t.

She thought she may have lost him for good when the dark castle came crumbling down with him inside, so she hung her head and whinnied long and loud and mournful as visions danced through her head. She imagined galloping through a dark forest, regressed in age, with him on her back, a sense of urgency in the air that she didn’t understand. Another vision, or maybe a nightmare, left her standing outside castle ruins with no boy to return to her. She feared it may become her reality.

By some miracle, her boy and the princess, who reminded her so much of his friend from the sky, emerged from the rubble with a muted sense of triumph, looking significantly worse for wear. He still greeted Epona with a warmth that only he could offer, though his eyes had hardened, snuffing out the innocence that had lingered there for so long.

\-------------

Epona lost track of things after that. This life could have been the third or fourth or even fifth or sixth time she met him, but she wasn’t sure anymore. All she knew for certain was that she had been helping him herd goats when a girl yelled at him and brought her to the local healing spring. The water was nice and made that twinge in her haunch go away, and the girl’s brush felt nice on her coat, but she wanted to be back with her boy. Her ears twitched in amusement, tail flicking with joy, when she saw him crawl out of a tunnel and into the spring.

Peace, Epona had found, was always short-lived when her boy was an adolescent. Aggressive creatures on boars broke down the spring’s gate and stole the village children away. Her boy tried to give chase, and she followed when she realized he had left, but a strange glowing wall blocked her path. Worried by the attack and her boy’s disappearance, Epona returned to Ordon and tried to warn the villagers in the only way a horse could: by stomping and being as loud as possible.

That night, a wolf appeared.

Wolves weren’t common in this forest and were often seen as harbingers of death. The villagers would scream in terror and flee into their homes if any were spotted, with a brave few attempting to slay the beasts. It wasn’t any different this time, either; the first sight of this lone wolf sent most of the residents bolting into their homes, while one of them stayed to fend the canine off.

Had Epona not been locked in a stable for the night, she would have intervened. Something in her gut told her that this was no ordinary wolf; it wasn’t due to the beast’s large size, unusual coloration, strange markings, or that chain around its front paw, however. No, it was the wolf’s _body language_ that tipped her off: tail tucked, ears flat, body held low to the ground in fear while it tried to sneak toward a house. It was the wolf’s eyes, though, that _confirmed_ her suspicions. It had the same eyes as her boy, a bright sky blue that she had only ever seen on him, shining with familiar nerves and determination.

The man that had taken it upon himself to slay the wolf ( _her boy_ ) came dangerously close to success, and Epona decided to take matters into her own hooves. She wasn’t sure what her boy needed from that house, but she wasn’t going to stand idly while his throat was sliced open with a sword. She spread her front legs a little to ground herself, took a deep breath, and let out a long whinny, cutting herself off abruptly in hopes of drawing attention from the man with the sword. Her boy looked toward her in alarm before darting to the side as the man with the sword came running toward her. Epona gestured with her head toward the house, hoping her boy would take the hint. He stood a little straighter, nodded, and ran toward the house now that he was no longer at risk of getting cut open.

Epona relaxed her posture, nickering in greeting when the man with the sword got close enough. He spent a moment searching around her stable for the wolf, before taking off again at a scream from the house. Epona shook her mane in pride and satisfaction when she saw the silhouette of her boy (who was now a wolf) dash away from the house.

Days, or maybe weeks, later, the village came under attack by goblin-like creatures, and Epona thought they might be the same kind as the ones who had stolen the children. The villagers seemed to fend them off well enough, but the creatures had stolen her from her stable, steering her away from her home and into the fields of Hyrule. She was driven by panic and fury, two of the creatures perched unpleasantly on her back and prodding her on with sharp sticks. She was becoming exhausted by the speed and the harsh treatment, sides heaving. When they stopped to make camp, she settled in to get some rest.

When she awoke a few hours later, the creatures were all passed out, save for the one that was keeping watch. They hadn’t bothered tying her up, too caught up in celebrating a successful raid, and that worked to Epona’s advantage. As quietly as she could, she stood up to get a good look at her surroundings. It was still fairly dark, but the descending moon was bright enough to see by. She flicked her ears, stilling when she made eye-contact with the guard. She walked slowly toward it, faking submission so the creature wouldn’t sound the alarm. It garbled something at her before returning to its watch. Epona kept her sight trained on it, backing up slowly and waiting patiently for an opening. When the guard began nodding off, she got a running start and jumped over it, ignorant of when she knocked it down, and took off toward the forest.

A tug of _something_ made her abruptly turn away from the treeline and race alongside it, making her way toward the mountain. Furious cries followed behind her, the creatures having been woken by her escape. She moved as quickly as her legs would carry her toward a canyon at the mountain’s base while the sun began to rise.

There was a village in the canyon, she found, and standing within it was her boy. He looked as alarmed as she felt, and though panic was clouding her mind, she lowered her head enough for him to get a good enough grip to swing onto her back as she galloped past. The touch of familiar hands running through her mane and over her neck were soothing, and Epona began to calm down, slowing to a trot when she realized the creatures were no longer giving chase. She was happy to be back with her boy, and vowed to herself not to be separated from him again.

And she kept that vow throughout the rest of their journey, from the frequent battles against the goblin-like creatures to the showdown against the disturbingly familiar boar-man.

When her boy clung to her neck, the crushing loss of his otherworldly friend bringing him to tears, Epona held him close with her head over his shoulder.

\-------------

Countless lifetimes later, Epona was alone.

Her boy had been with her, though quieter than before, and love still swirled in his eyes (blue as his tunic) when he looked at her, though it had been overshadowed by the stress of his duties as a knight and champion. He and the princess had disappeared when the sky changed and those strange mechanical spiders started killing everyone in sight. Epona didn’t know where they had gone, and tried to find them, worry spurring her on.

She searched everywhere she could get to, from mountain paths to endless forests, from beaches to canyons, with no luck. Epona wasn’t sure how long she’d been searching for her boy, but she never gave up hope. He always came back. _Always._ It could take years, but _her boy would return._ She knew this from experience, and although she felt lost without him, she knew they would meet again.

Weeks, months, or maybe years, passed. Epona found herself in a vast jungle, irritably smacking biting insects away with her tail. She was so _lonely_ and tired and dearly wanted some friendly company, preferably in the form of a sweet blond boy with eyes like the sky and the world on his shoulders. Instead, she emerged from the humid greenery into a rocky area going through a gorge. She looked at the path in front of her, worn with travel, and moved forward. She could smell water ahead, and that sounded wonderful.

The road was long and winding and finally curled around the lake she’d scented earlier. Epona stopped to drink her fill and settle in for the night. In her dreams, she jumped fences and canyons alongside a wolf who was sometimes a boy, sprouting crimson wings when the distance was too far for a jump to succeed. One such jump had them flying over a lake shaped like a horse’s head, and something about that shook Epona into wakefulness. Within moments of her eyes opening, she felt a tug from inside of herself. She followed it excitedly without question, as similar tugs before had always brought her back to her boy.

It led her through more canyons and eventually to a bridge. The tug directed her to stay on the path, and she broke into a gallop. A glance to her left in the middle of the bridge showed her the lake from her dream, and exhilaration made her move even faster.

It almost felt like she was flying again.

Across the bridge was a curving path that led her to a massive flower that was beginning to wither. She approached with curiosity and caution, rearing in a startle when a huge horse-headed figure emerged and looked at her. The being didn’t move any closer at first, and seemed to be studying her. She flicked her tail nervously under the scrutiny before the possible deity finally spoke.

“You’re in pain.” The observation was simple, spoken gently.

_Yes._ Epona thought, lowering her head a little. _My heart hurts._

“Your rider abandoned you?”

_No!_ The thought was horrifying, and she stomped her hooves a little, stretching her neck and glaring. The deity had the decency to look a little guilty. She looked away when she realized her outburst, tail flicking.

_He would never abandon me. We’ve been together since the time of demons and wilderness and cities in the sky. We were separated in an attack and I cannot find him._

“You’ve been searching for a long time.”

_Yes, I have._ Epona hung her head again and huffed out what could only be a sigh. _I’m so tired._

She could feel the deity watching her again and she scuffed a hoof nervously. Why was this god paying so much attention to her? Sure, she was the mount and dearest friend of the goddess-chosen hero, but she doubted that this deity had any relation to Hylia. He (because Epona thought that the god was likely a he) seemed to be in his own bubble, or rather flower, and closer to a Great Fairy than a deity, but the aura he gave off was undeniable. She twitched her ears toward him when she heard him move again and looked up. The deity’s hand was laying in front of her, palm toward the sky.

“Would you like to rest?” Epona looked wearily at him, lifting a hoof to take a step forward before aborting the motion. He tilted his head. “Why do you hesitate?”

_I cannot seek out my boy if I rest with you._

“Hmm...” He tilted his head to the other side, calculating. She watched him. “I have seen countless horses through the centuries who loved their riders with their very souls. But you...” He moved his hand and gently touched his index finger to her chest.

“I have never seen a bond as powerful as this. You and your boy must be close indeed. Even I, the Horse God Malanya, cannot fathom the depth of this devotion.” The deity, Malanya apparently, splayed his palm again.

“I cannot bring your boy back to you, or send you back to him right now… But I can shelter and nurture you until the time to reunite comes. And, well,” he chuckled lightly, gesturing for her to step onto his hand, “a bond that’s strong enough to last so many lifetimes must have more to it.”

_Yes._ Epona agreed. _I can usually feel a tug drawing me back to my boy, though I haven’t felt it since we’ve been separated. I…_ She shook her head, ears going back as she stepped forward. _I fear the worst may have happened._ Malanya lifted her to eye-level and brought his other hand up to hold her gently.

“Then you have no need to fear resting with me, sweet Epona. You will wake when your boy returns, and I will send you back to him then.” The deity’s voice was kind and caring and Epona found it almost as soothing as her boy’s. “Sleep, dear one. You are safe.”

And with one last look at the sky, she did.

\-------------

Epona was floating.

She couldn’t figure out whether she was _actually_ floating, or if it was her imagination trying to fool her. Maybe it was a dream?

At the sound of birdsong, her eyes cracked open.

The world was bright and big and _open,_ and she was so high up she thought she might be able to touch the sky once again. She trotted along, exploring this area that _had_ to have been a dream, and found the edge of what may have been a cliff overlooking the vast expanse of this corner of Hyrule. She could see the castle in the distance, pink swirling around its towers, and she scuffed a hoof. That _thing_ that reeked of the boar-man’s fury was the reason she and her boy weren’t together anymore and it enraged her. With a bellowing whinny that would make a dragon proud, Epona charged toward the castle.

If she was dreaming, she’d sprout wings and be fine, right?

.

.

.

.

.

.

She wasn’t dreaming.

.

.

.

.

.

.

She was still floating.

.

.

.

.

.

.

If this wasn’t a dream, it had to be...

.

.

.

.

.

.

A _vision._

Epona made it one stride over the cliff before she hit an invisible wall. She huffed and paced alongside it, unsuccessfully trying to find a gap. After walking for what felt like hours, she curved inward, back toward the plateau. She was stricken by its bizarre familiarity when she looked closely enough.

It looked like the Castle Town of old, from countless lifetimes before this. The whole place was in ruins. Epona lowered her head sadly but moved into the long-dead town anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to just… Look around and remember better times. She moved slowly, steps silent since she wasn’t actually _there,_ as she simply remembered.

The old fountain that used to be surrounded by ReDeads.

The absence of shops she and her boy had frequented.

The _accursed_ temple that was a constant in their adventures.

Epona huffed again and trailed along. Why was she here? How did she even _get_ here? The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was a horse-headed god’s company in an area beyond a jungle she couldn’t even see from here. How did she get so high up? She looked down at her forelegs, lifting one curiously only to find that it was transparent. Oh, right, _vision._ She wasn’t physically here. At least, she _hoped_ it was a vision, and that she wasn’t actually _dead._

As Epona pondered, she felt a tug.

It made her perk her ears and break into a gallop without a second thought.

He was here! Her boy was _here!_

She ignored the old man she passed that probably couldn’t even see her, and charged up to a wall marked in strange glowing blue. She whinnied desperately, rearing and scuffing her hooves along it in an attempt to break it down. Her boy was behind it, she could _feel_ it, but the wall was unyielding. Even a hind kick didn’t leave a scratch. Sides heaving, Epona lowered her head, pressing her nose then forehead to the wall. He was _so close_ but she couldn’t reach him, and it caused her unbearable heartbreak. She felt a hand in her mane and looked up, alarmed.

It was the old man.

He was smiling, but it was so small Epona couldn’t tell if it was really there or not.

“He’ll wake up soon.”

The old man’s words struck a chord in her heart, and blinding hope, the likes of which she hadn’t felt since the beginning of time, lifted her soul. She reared and let out a cheerful whinny, feeling lighter than she had in decades. She took off toward the jungle, practically flying.

A few weeks later, Epona had made herself comfortable in a field near a stable beyond the weird mountain that looked to have been split in half. Something in her gut told her that her boy would be heading this way, and all she had left to do was play the waiting game. She frequently found herself looking at the odd round building that pulsed with dim orange light in front of the stable. During her adventures in past lives, things like that typically warranted investigation by her boy, and she certainly wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to catch him.

Epona lowered her head and plucked a mouthful of grass, keeping her ears perked. A bit of rustling behind her caught her attention. That sound usually meant one of three things: the children from the stable were trying to play, a foolish predator was trying to catch a feast, or someone was trying to steal her away from her vigil of the glowing structure. Probably a bokoblin. She turned her head to check and… Yep, a bokoblin. She made a warning sound and the creature flinched, but stupidly kept creeping closer. Ears flattening, Epona kicked out her hind legs with all her might and the pest went flying, disappearing into a cloud of purple smoke with a pained cry. She tossed her head proudly and straightened up, turning her attention back to the shrine.

It was glowing in two colors now.

The grass in her mouth fell out when she parted her jaws in shock. She trotted closer, not even daring to blink until she was right next to it. It looked like a door had been opened and her heart thumped loudly. She glanced at the tiny podium next to the opening and inhaled.

_It was her boy!_ Even dulled by wilderness, his scent was unmistakable. She began to pace back and forth, attention focused solely on the gap in the shrine. The sun was setting by the time the glow became one color again, but it was blue this time. Epona stilled in anticipation.

A few minutes later, she finally saw him again.

Her boy.

He looked a bit startled when he saw her, but Epona didn’t mind. It had been a century since she’d seen him last, but the important thing was that they were finally together again. She pranced around him like a lovestruck yearling, hopping a little with her front hooves. She lowered her head to his eye level, tail flicking excitedly. While she didn’t see recognition in the familiar blue, she knew deep inside that this was the same boy from decades ago, and even if he couldn’t remember her, they could make new memories together.

Her boy hesitantly reached out a hand and she immediately nudged it with her nose, nickering warmly when she saw him smile again for the first time in so long. She circled around him, nibbling affectionately on the end of his ponytail before resting her head on his shoulder and chest.

\-------------

Epona remembers the first time she met her boy. He wasn’t always a boy (he was sometimes a wolf) and she wasn’t always a mare (she used to be a bird), but they were made for each other and countless lifetimes couldn’t change that.

He was her boy, and she was his horse.

And that was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that the crimson loftwing is listed as male, but I just really liked this idea. And I also know that there are two bulblins on Epona’s back when she arrives in Kakariko, but I had forgotten about that when I wrote that part, so uh. Oops.
> 
> I know I said “short and sweet and simple” in the opening notes, but? It ended up like 1100-ish words longer than either of my other two stories, so? I don’t know what to think about that.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
